This invention relates to a strengthened gelling material based on dry egg albumen that provides coagulation having enhanced gel strength.
Heretofore, dry egg albumen has been prepared by drying liquid egg white using various drying methods such as spray-drying, air-drying, freeze-drying or vacuum-drying to obtain egg albumen powder which normally contains 5 to 7 weight % of water. To obtain egg albumen powder containing a reduced number of living bacteria, the egg albumen powder has been kept at an elevated temperature of 55 to 65 degrees C. for several days and then allowed to cool. The dry egg albumen thus prepared has been widely used as a material in a variety of food applications. However, the above dry egg albumen is defective in that it does not have sufficient capability to coagulate when its aqueous solution is heated (hereinafter referred to as "gelation capability").
Japanese Patent Publication No. 16863/1975 discloses a method for manufacturing dry egg albumen in which liquid egg white is dried after adjusting its pH by adding a citric acid solution. The dry egg albumen obtained by the above method has a somewhat improved gelation capability, however, it does not provide the gel strength desired for use in paste products such as sausages.
On the other hand, a method for manufacturing dry egg albumen having an improved gelation capability is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying-open No.149637/1983, in which liquid egg white is dried to obtain egg albumen powder containing 8 to 12 weight % water, and the egg albumen powder is kept at a temperature of 70 to 100 degrees C. for a specified period of time.
The above described dry egg albumen having improved gelation capabilities requires a longer time to control the water content more than usual and has an insufficient gelation capability which does not provide coagulation with high gel strength.